There is no national (federal) law about breastfeeding in public—it is up to each state to decide how to handle the issue. But all states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands have laws that allow women to breastfeed in any public or private location.

Thirty-one states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands exempt breastfeeding from public indecency laws. These states include:

• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Florida
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Oklahoma
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Utah, Virginia
• West Virginia
• Washington
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

Thirty-two states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have laws related to breastfeeding in the workplace. These states include:

• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Montana
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Dakota
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• Wyoming

And twenty states and Puerto Rico exempt breastfeeding mothers from jury duty or allow jury service to be postponed. These states include:

• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Michigan
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• New York
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Virginia

Breastfeeding in the Workplace

Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for one year after the child's birth—each time the employee needs to express the milk (the frequency and duration of such breaks will likely vary). Employers are also required to provide a place (other than a bathroom) that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, and that may be used by an employee to express breast milk. These requirements are included in section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)—a federal statute. See 29 U.S.C. 207(r).

The federal law provides that employees who work for employers covered by the FLSA and that are not exempt from the FLSA’s overtime pay requirements (outlined in Section 7 of the FLSA) are entitled to breaks to express milk. And although employers who are exempt from the requirements of section 7 are not required under the FLSA to provide breaks to nursing mothers, they may be obligated to provide such breaks under state laws.

The FLSA requirement of break time for nursing mothers to express breast milk does not preempt state laws that provide greater protections to employees—for example, providing compensated break time; providing break time for exempt employees; or providing break time beyond one year after the child’s birth.

Employers are not required under the FLSA to compensate nursing mothers for breaks taken for the purpose of expressing milk. But where employers already provide compensated breaks, an employee who uses that break time to express milk must be compensated in the same way that other employees are compensated for break time. And the FLSA provides that unless the employee is completely relieved from duty, the time must be compensated.

All employers covered by the FLSA—regardless of the size of their business—are required to comply with the requirement to allow break time to express breast milk. But employers with fewer than 50 employees are not subject to the FLSA break time requirement if the employer can demonstrate that compliance with the provision would impose an undue hardship. Whether compliance would be an undue hardship is determined by looking at the difficulty or expense of compliance for a specific employer in comparison to the size, financial resources, nature, or structure of the employer’s business.

In South Carolina, breastfeeding in public is protected and mothers are allowed to breastfeed in any public or private location where they are authorized to be. The state is one of the 31 states that exempt breastfeeding from public indecency laws, ensuring that breastfeeding mothers are not penalized under these statutes. Additionally, South Carolina is among the states that have workplace breastfeeding laws, which complement the federal requirement that employers provide reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for one year after the child's birth. This federal law also requires employers to provide a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public. While state laws may offer additional protections, employers in South Carolina are not required to compensate nursing mothers for breaks taken for the purpose of expressing milk unless they already provide compensated breaks to their employees. Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees may be exempt from these federal requirements if they can demonstrate that compliance would impose an undue hardship.